United States Department of Education to the Honorable Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota (May 10, 2024)

Summary

A letter dated May 10, 2024 from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, United States Department of Education, to Governor Tim Walz and Commissioner Willie Jett of Minnesota. It responds to the Minnesota Department of Education's March 12, 2024, request for a waiver of the fiscal year (FY) 2023 maintenance of effort requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The letter states that, under section 2004(a)(2), the Department is approving the waiver for elementary and secondary education and higher education for FY 2023. It states that Minnesota failed to meet the requirement for elementary and secondary education by 4.13 percentage points (a $992.2 million shortfall) and for higher education by 0.66 percentage point (a $43.8 million shortfall).

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“United States Department of Education to the Honorable Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota (May 10, 2024).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-fy-2023-waiver-approved-www-ed-gov-39c76fdb1d-7e0e3ae1f2/, SHA-256 2ef3128d5f0d2a182f31cfc6c3aa35f4809ce01fc30fc74da08efacc004f082e.

Full text

                           UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                                OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                                    May 10, 2024

The Honorable Tim Walz
Governor of Minnesota
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

The Honorable Willie Jett
Commissioner of Education
Minnesota Department of Education
400 NE Stinson Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Dear Governor Walz and Commissioner Jett:

I am writing in response to the Minnesota Department of Education’s March 12, 2024, request to
the U.S. Department of Education (Department) for a waiver of the fiscal year (FY) 2023
maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP
Act).

As a condition of receiving Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds under
the ARP Act, Minnesota assured it would maintain effort, as defined in the ARP Act, for both
elementary and secondary education and higher education in each of FYs 2022 and 2023. More
specifically, for each FY, section 2004(a)(1) of the ARP Act requires a State that receives ARP
ESSER funds to maintain State support for: 1) elementary and secondary education at least at the
proportional level of the State’s support for elementary and secondary education relative to the
State’s overall spending, averaged over FYs 2017, 2018, and 2019; and 2) higher education at
least at the proportional level of the State’s support for higher education relative to the State’s
overall spending, averaged over FYs 2017, 2018, and 2019. Section 2004(a)(2) of the ARP Act
allows the Department to grant a waiver of the MOE requirements “for the purpose of relieving
fiscal burdens incurred by States in preventing, preparing for, and responding to the
coronavirus.”

Under the authority of section 2004(a)(2) of the ARP Act, I am approving Minnesota’s request to
waive the MOE requirements in section 2004(a)(1) of the ARP Act with respect to State support
for elementary and secondary education and higher education to relieve fiscal burdens incurred
by the State for FY 2023. This determination is based on the totality of the circumstances,
including review of Minnesota’s waiver request and the fiscal burden the State incurred in
responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; the Department’s application of the statutory

                                400 MARYLAND AVE., SW, WASHINGTON, DC 20202
                                              http://www.ed.gov/

   The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by
                               fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
Page 2 – The Honorable Tim Walz and The Honorable Willie Jett

requirements; the Department’s approach to MOE waiver requests as noted in the Frequently
Asked Questions document;1 and consideration of the impact on students.

Based on the information submitted, Minnesota failed to meet the FY 2023 MOE requirement
for elementary and secondary education by 4.13 percentage points (a $992.2 million shortfall)
and for higher education by 0.66 percentage point (a $43.8 million shortfall). Minnesota noted
that decreases in proportional education spending were due to increases in overall State spending
on health care and one-time, pandemic-related payments in FY 2023, including funding for
frontline workers.

In determining whether to grant a State an MOE waiver, we may consider factors such as
increased State support for education. Minnesota submitted data showing it increased overall
support for elementary and secondary education from an average of $9,240,730,667 in the
baseline years to $10,270,162,000 in FY 2023. Data submitted by the State also show an increase
in overall support for higher education from an average of $1,535,339,333 in the baseline years
to $1,713,800,000 in FY 2023. Minnesota also increased FY 2023 per-pupil spending compared
to the baseline for both elementary and secondary education (13 percent or $1,361 per student)
and higher education (27 percent or $1,656 per student). Finally, Minnesota demonstrated a
commitment to State support beyond FY 2023 including $1.8 billion in supplemental spending
for elementary and secondary education and $281.7 million for higher education in FY 2024, as
noted in the waiver request.2 These supplemental appropriations are larger than the FY 2023
shortfalls for both elementary and secondary and higher education as calculated under the ARP
Act MOE requirements.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to education. If you have any questions, please contact
the Minnesota State Mailbox at Minnesota.OESE@ed.gov.

                                                 Sincerely,
aura Jimenez
    Jimenez                                      Laura Jimenez

                                                 Laura Jimenez
                                                 Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations




1
  https://oese.ed.gov/files/2022/09/8.15.22-Update_MOE-Chart-with-waiver-FAQs-Rounding-and-Appendices-
Updated1.pdf
2
  https://oese.ed.gov/files/2024/04/Minnesota-Attachment-to-MOE-Waiver-Request_FY23.pdf

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